


An Unexpected Visitor

by issaMorg



Category: OFF (Game)
Genre: Bad Batter is in this for the cuddles you have been warned, Do not make my life choices, F/M, Female! Player, So here we are, Some pics per chapter, do not poke around a kinkmeme, it was a year since the last prompt was submitted and I had to, no promises I'm in college and have little free time, with apologies to anyone expecting quality, wow this is off track
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-14
Updated: 2015-04-07
Packaged: 2018-02-17 08:15:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2302778
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/issaMorg/pseuds/issaMorg
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Batter escapes into his player's world as his "reward" for "purifying" his world. He gets lost in the player's city but eventually find his player due to instincts and and Bad Batter's heightened senses. After he finds his player, he hugs them and is tender to them. He follows them around for several days (to school, work, you name it). Initially the player is confused about how the fuck a video game character popped into reality, but they decide to roll with it. Hijinks ensue."<br/>I gave it a shot</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. That One Time a Video Game Monster Came Out of the Game

**Author's Note:**

> An attempt was made, and I do so apologize for it.

"Batter escapes into his player's world as his "reward" for "purifying" his world. He gets lost in the player's city but eventually find his player due to instincts and and Bad Batter's heightened senses. After he finds his player, he hugs them and is tender to them. He follows them around for several days (to school, work, you name it). Initially the player is confused about how the fuck a video game character they’d been fapping to for several months popped into reality, but they decide to roll with it. Hijinks ensue- complete with virgin!player, gentle!bad batter, and public frotting(in a mall, store, at work, etc. Batter just wants his player’s purity). Kinks: monster, frotting, publicity/humiliation, Sthenolagnia, gentle vanilla sex." 

* * *

 

Ask and ye shall receive… more or less. I promise no down and dirty frickle-frackle, BUT I CAN IMPLY RIGHT? If any readers out there wanna write those parts feel free I guess

* * *

 

It was a chilly night as she walked down the street back to her apartment. Work had run late and, as the newcomer and lowest man on the totem pole, she had been pulled further into the late shift. The hospital was a rough place to work when you’re new, but before the accident her mom had been a nurse, and she wanted to follow in her mom’s footsteps. She didn’t feel pressured into the field, per say, but it was a good job that always needed extra hands.

 

Walking back from the hospital didn’t take too long, but it _was_ night and she was a more-or-less attractive female (at least, that was her opinion- the lack of interest from others in high school may disagree). A frigid gust of wind blustered by, tousling short, thick peroxide blonde hair and sent a shiver down her spine- the only thing she missed about the long hair she chopped off to make the job easier was keeping the back of her neck warm. The short hair was actually manageable to bleach (and hopefully dye _but what color_?) and lower maintenance. All you need for upkeep was a quick buzz and good to go!

 

The noise of a trash can being knocked over tore her out of her musings. ‘ _Why do I insist on walking home? In every story that’s mistake number one,_ ’ she berated herself, wincing as she turned around to the alleyway where the noise came from. She ran cross country in high school- she hasn’t gotten _too_ out of shape since then, she cool probably get back to her apartment… Where she lived alone… ‘ _I should get a roommate. Maybe a dog,’_ she mused as her body was tensed- ready to flee at the first sign the noise was not just a cat. “Please be a cat, please be a cat, please please please,” she chanted under her breath as she inched backward from the alleyway. The noises continued as two stray cats peeled out yowling and hissing as the sprinted away from the alley and her, one chasing the other.

 

She relaxed, standing up straight, “Nailed it,” she crowed with a smirk, “just two territorial toms.” Internally she vowed to bum a ride or ride the bus back to the apartment next time she took the night shift, but that wouldn’t help her now. She sighed in relief one last time before she turned to continue back to her apartment.

 

The rest of the walk had been more-or-less uneventful, though she could’ve sworn she heard a snuffling of a really big stray dog, and apparently the cats were especially feisty tonight as the alleys were full of angry yowling. She rejoiced upon seeing the building she called home, unlocking the door and entering its lobby. She retrieved the mail she had been too lazy to snag on her way to work, and flipped through the small stack on her way up the stairs. ‘ _Bill, spam, fake charity, bill, mom?’_ She stopped short on the stairs, her brow crinkled. Her mom never wrote her letters, but there it was, her mother’s neat cursive script delicately stating the letter was for ‘ _Maria Abasolo_ ,’ and there she held it. Shaking her head, she went up those last few steps- the second apartment on the third floor was home sweet home.

 

Maria unlocked the door and tossed the purse and mail on the table, she flicked the kitchen lights on. The apartment was small and cozy- a lovely spacious room(or enough for a queen bed and a desk, the closet suffered but she was fine with that) for one, a bathroom, a small kitchenette slash dining room, and a living room encompassed her humble abode. She strode into the kitchen, aiming to retrieve a glass of water. She grabbed her empty glass from earlier and filled it. She leaned against the counter and she observed the apartment, drinking the water in-thought.

 

She thought the living room was homey- a bit cluttered but with a comfortable couch and recliner none of her friends had complained. The coffee table was the resting place of a well loved laptop as it sat on an eclectic mess of coasters, and some magazines her mom thought she needed a subscription for. Maria had a soft spot for all her coasters, some were ceramic and had been painted with a friend in high school, some looked almost crocheted(or something like that) and purchased at a craft fair, and the others from a set gifted as housewarming. The living room blanket was something her grandmother made, it was huge, comfortable and made with earthy colors arranged in a grid. It was the best thing to curl up in while messing around on the computer- the Wi-Fi was best there so there she would be. Speaking of, her favorite and only comp was calling her name and who was she to ignore him?

 

She smiled and pushed off the counter, only to stop and sigh when she remembered- tomorrow was trash day. Maria couldn't put it off any longer, technically they were coming in a handful of hours. She sighed and shuffled off to gather the trash. Five minutes later and she was back out the door- if only for a moment. She tromped down the stairs with the trash bag and once more walked into the cold. The door was always slow to close, so she quickly tossed the trash into the can and scurried back inside. She started the trek back up the stairs- her warm home was calling her!

 

Naturally, this is when she crashed into a wall of a person.

“Oh shit, sorr-” Maria started before a rumbling sound cut her off. Her eyes snapped open as she tried to take a step back, but a giant pair of hands reached out and grabbed her shoulders. Her eyes raked over the form hunched over in front of her in disbelief. It looked like Bad!Batter- massive body hunched in the stairwell sniffing the air before again, continuing to rumble. She would’ve _loved_ to further examine the person in front of her- maybe congratulate them on the great cosplay, when a giant _warm_ head was pushed against her torso, the teensy baseball hat resting on her shoulder, wide eyes closed contentedly, hands pulling her gently closer, and his nose _uM-_?! “Woah there buddy! Back off,” she yelped, shoving the snout away from the bits _thankyouverymuch_ , her face bright red as wide white eyes stared back into her. The toothy maw seemed to be stretched into a grin, the now-disjointed rumbling sound continuing as they nuzzled back into her torso.

 

Maria was just flabbergasted- what the hell?? Why is **_Batter_** _here_?!? “What are you doing here,” she nervously inquired- at any point the other tenants could walk down…

 

She was interrupted from suggesting that when the ‘Batter’ pulled her closer to themself, “Plaaaaaayerrrr,” came a rough response. “Maarrriaaa, plaayerr,” they lifted their head enough to be able to look her in the eyes, “smell saaafe, purrre,” they finished. Closing their eyes, they once more rumbled- _purred_?- contentedly into her torso, despite the peep of protest.

 

Far more flustered than she thought she could be, Maria stammered out, “Uh, listen, whoever-you-are; it’s late and I need to sleep so you should uh…. Go? I mean you can’t stay here, these stairs are way too narrow but,” she rambled as a nervous habit, oops. “Anyway I don’t know who put you up to this and told you my name, but I don’t recognize you and-” a loud growl interrupted.

 

“My playerr, yourr Batterrr,” they -he? They very much seemed like Batter and uh well the Batter was known as he, _so_ \- snarled. He looked pissed as _Hell_ , the giant face contorting in an intense emotion that seemed a cross between rage and maybe disgust? Terror at that sound and the fact that cosplays _can’t emote like that what even is this_ kinda affected perception. The creature calmed with a _probably_ sad expression and looked away, ashamed? “Rrreaal forrm,” he croaked out, completely releasing her arms and seemed to crouch even smaller- an impressive feat when in a stairwell at an unholy hour.

 

Maria knew that the Batter had a true form and wasn’t _human_ , but she had always picked his ending when she played- she had been with him that far it just felt disloyal to _not_ … she did YouTube the Judge’s ending though- it was interesting, excruciatingly depressing, but interesting.

 

She shook her head and took a deep breath, ‘ _I’m really doing this_ ,’ she thought before starting, “listen, Batter, it’s so late it’s _early_. At this ungodly hour I’d have to ask that we take this conversation elsewhere- preferably putting it off until a later time _so I can get some sleep_ but I can dream. So,” she added, somehow squeezing past the giant gator-man. “It’s been lovely,” she called back, not bothering to look over her shoulder, “but I need to go,” she stepped off the flight of stairs at her floor, smiling at the sight.

 

She shuffled forward while retrieving keys, sighing as the wave of fatigue crested- goddamn she was tired. She opened the door just enough to slide in and flop against it to close it. She slid down the door and sighed, leaning her head back against it. How has this been her day? She was jolted from her musings when a giant thud hit the door and jolted her forward. “What the Hell,” she choked out, scrambling up and about to open the door when she heard that damn rumbling again- this time more like a whining noise. “For the love of,” she mumbled, looking through the peephole and seeing the Batter crouched there, his hat obstructing the view. “Batter what are you doing? What was that thud?”

 

There was movement in the peephole and a round, white eye were looking back at her. The suddenness caused her to jerk back, but she leaned forward when he began grumbling, “Can’t open, this forrrmm,” he trailed off into unhappy growling.

 

She would’ve loved to tell him it was none of her business, but her neighbor started banging on the wall, a muffled yell of, “Wouldja keep it down over there? It’s too late for this!” Her neighbor was a nice guy, he worried easily and _would_ come out… And Batter was hissing in the hallway.

 

Not good. At all.

 

With a groan she pulled the door wide open, and grabbed the Batter’s massive hand, pulling him into the room. After quickly locking and dead bolting the door, she looked at Batter. Thankfully he stopped hissing, but he stayed in a half crouch and glared at the wall separating the apartments.

 

Actually, now that he was in semi-decent light, maybe he was crouched because he was _so absolutely **huge**_! He was at least seven feet, maybe eight- hard saying when he’s crouched and towers over her mere five-five self. She softly swatted his leg, “Stop looking like you’re gonna charge the wall- I’m the one that’ll lose that way,” she softly scolded.

 

He quickly turned around, deftly maneuvering to face her without upsetting anything in the small space. He started his soft rumbling up again, going to edge closer. He tended to crouch around her(unless that was the low ceilings talking), and she appreciated the effort at least. He edged closer still, his great brow crinkling as he snuffled the air around her. Apparently satisfied, he closed the gap and nuzzled back into her smaller form, chuffing in an almost content or happy fashion.

 

However, a gentle nuzzle from him was enough to send Maria rocking on her heels, and wrapping her arms around his wedge-shaped head for stability. Consequently, his rumbles increased in volume, the edges of the massive mouth turning upward into a grin. Shifting position to pull her closer, the Batter curled around her, his arms coming around and massive hands pressing her closer. She mentally shrugged and went with it, it was too early- that was a valid excuse. She let herself enjoy the comfort and warmth from the Batter for a bit of time, before squirming from his grip, causing the soothing purr-like noises to become disjointed and confused sounds.

 

“Not that I didn’t enjoy that, I did, but I,” she said, walking backward towards here bedroom, “must go to bed, night!” Closing the door enough, she started shedding scrubs as she walked- she had intended on changing into pajamas before taking out the trash, honestly. She just forgot was all, and was not willing to turn around halfway down the stairs. As she was pulling on a PJ shirt, she mused on how she had been thinking it would only be five minutes, but then Batter-

 

… Batter. Who followed her. And was still in her apartment.

 

Slowly turning around, she looked at her door, ready to be reasonably upset.

 

To happily find it just as she had left it- no Batter there. She pulled back the warm covers on her bed and snuggled in deep, falling into the blissful stage between awake and asleep, ready for nothing but this long day to be over.

 

This is, naturally, when her bed dipped, and she slid into a warm, scaley-but-soft body. She was about to struggle back into awareness just to yell at him to get out of her bed, but that damned purr and the fatigue from work both pulled her into unconsciousness, relaxing into the Batter’s protective hold as she went. So long as he took the cleats off before he got into be she could let it slide… This time.


	2. That One Time You Woke Up Half Naked Next to a Giant Lizard Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out it wasn't a dream. Weird.

Somewhere through the night, Maria had gotten hot. As a result of getting hot, she had kicked her covers off in her sleep. No big deal. Somehow, she still remained hot, and had kicked off her pants in her sleep.

 

Maybe that explained how she woke up in the situation she had. She was flush against the Batter. He was somehow wrapped completely around her, her back against an apparently bare chest- with no cleats which is good- but when did that happen? She stilled and started taking stock of the situation. One of his arms was taking over the role of her pillow, the other trying its damnedest to be her blanket- but don’t worry, where it failed one of his legs did the rest of the job. His neck was bent in what she would have assumed was an uncomfortable position if he hadn’t been in a peaceful sleep. As it was, her view was severely hampered but the underside of his face, just a nice massive view of his jaw and some beige wall in her line of sight.

 

Had this been anything but a first night occurrence, the next fact that she because aware of wouldn’t’ve bothered Maria so much. As it was, apparently she wasn’t the only one that needed to use the bathroom… at least she hoped that’s what that was- she had no idea how bodily functions of fictional characters transferred from pixel to people. Apparently he had the plumbing though.

 

That didn't change that she really had to pee. The sooner the better but maybe going on the Batter’s time wouldn’t be such a bad idea... She mentally shrugged and relaxed back into the Batter’s hold- she could sleep still. He sleepily rumbled and pulled her even closer to him and yanno it wasn’t so bad really, oh wait yeah _no that was hip movement haha no definitely functional bits oh **wow abort abort**_.

 

She started wriggling and struggling her way from his grip to freedom, the Batter making upset grumbles and trying to pull her back in but her bladder claimed _nO I **MUST PEE**_. She was impressed that even half asleep, he was mindful of his talons when trying to herd her back into his embrace. After a few more seconds, his hands firmly grasped her upper arms causing her to make a startled peep, his voice rougher than what she remembered when he simply asked, “why?”

 

Too embarrassed to look him in the eye, she took extreme interest in the ceiling she had spent far too many nights staring at to count, replying, “ I gotta pee, can I go now?” She was fidgeting, really needing to go at this point.

 

The beastly Batter sighed and let her go, keeping an eye on her as she scrambled out of bed and made a bee line to the bathroom. When she emerged not long after, his scaly snout was buried in her pillow and eyes closed, faintly purring. She shrugged and walked past the bed, going to her closet to get dressed for what was left of the day. At least, that was the plan before a certain massive reptile snatched her up and before she knew what had happened was purring with the two of them in the position she awoke from. She huffed in annoyance and his rumbling purr became disjointed and wait was he _laughing_?

 

“Laugh it up Chucklenuts,” she grumbled in his hold, ceasing the struggle for now. “We can’t stay in bed all day, it’s,” she lifted her head enough to see her watch, “10:30, and I have to be at work at one,” she huffed. Same shift as yesterday, 1 pm to “1 am”… or something.

 

The giant monster lizard gave a noncommittal noise and stuck his nose between her chin and her shoulder, causing her to do the reflexive head-tilt-shoulder-lift with an ‘eep!’ noise. She could hear his deep inhaling clearly, his purr starting up again. She let it be and then realized his uh, _problem_ was… gone? “Batter, how do your bodily functions work here, in this world, I mean,” she asked- smooth Maria, smooth.

 

He seems to take one last big snuffle before moving his snout enough to respond, “why ask? Not sure, everrrything is much different frrrom the zones,” he then buried his nose back in the crook of her neck, apparently done with his answer.

 

Maria sighed and rolled over, pressing her forehead against the Batter’s chest, _feeling_ the purr increase in volume as he curled closer around her. Of all things she had thought about the stoic, one-track-minded Batter, she had not expected him to be _this big on cuddling_. “You really will have to let me get up at some point, I have things to do,” she grumbled into his chest.

 

The Batter chuffed and ignored her comment, burrowing his nose into her hair and rumbling in annoyance. She will never admit that she giggled when his snout brushed just against her neck and she is most _certainly not ticklish_ no never. She gave herself fifteen minutes to bask in how surprisingly comfortable the Batter is before wiggling once more from his grip. Patting the mattress, she tried to convince him out by tempting, “c’mon, it’s breakfast time! Best meal of the day, most important, too,” she smiled with this.

 

The Batter lazily flicked his visible eye open, seeming to sigh once more and lumbered out of bed. His posture was slouched and head drooping- when was the last time he had slept? How long had he been here? She worried over these as she made her way into the kitchen, idly noticing his shoes were neatly by the door and his shirts were in a pile in the corner. She vaguely noticed some stains in the white fabric, and knew she’d have to get some laundry done so he could have things to wear.

 

That brought up another fact- what size _could_ he fit in? Did they even make a size that big?? His shoulders were massive, maybe she could take measurements and subtly ask mom…

 

‘ _MOM!_ ’ the thought came unbidden to her head and hit her like a train. Her letter was still sitting there, among the bills and spam it sat on top. She snagged it as she went to look through the fridge- she’d have to go buy groceries today, too… maybe she could put it off longer? Her day off was the day after next, maybe it could work out…? She shrugged and grabbed the carton of eggs, “Hope you like eggs, it’s what I got,” she said louder into the fridge, turning around and being met with a Batter chest. “Jesus,” she cried out, flinching backward from his sudden appearance.

 

He made a noise of apology and nudged her arm, “c’est bon,” he responded. He hesitated, tacking on haltingly, “new. I have had never,” he backed up with this admission, letting her pass.

 

Maria smiled at him and gently patted his snout, “you should like it, if not tell me and I’ll snag something meat when I’m at the store.”

 

He idly nodded, then stopped and recoiled in shock, “I will go also, you should not go on own,” he immediately offered, scooting toward her in his urgency.

 

She shook her head and patted his snout and he nervously rumbled, “Batter I’ve been on my own going grocery shopping since college. I can handle myself,” she told him as she scrounged up the cookware needed for eggs and whatnot. “I appreciate it,” she began, patting his nose, “but you’re a giant lizard man and the population is not ready for that. So thanks but bad idea,” she finished, busying herself with making enough eggs to feed Batter. “How much do you even eat,” she mumbled, starting to crack the eggs into a bowl.

 

“Tell you when,” he rumbled, sitting next to where she stood next to the stove, snaking an arm around her and looking over her shoulder, face crinkling with… Amusement? Hopefully his expressions would be easier to tell in time what they meant.

 

Maria rolled her eyes and placed a hand on his jaw, “cute,” she commented, keeping her eyes on the pan on front of her, figuring the total number of eggs she’d had would suffice. It’d have to.

 

The Batter gently rested his head on her shoulder, being careful not to put his whole weight and unbalance her. She yawned and stretched before plating the food and shuffling over to the table. She placed the plate with a large mound of food on one side and went to sit at the other. She idly picked at her food while looking at the envelope. She heard a small thump and looked up to see the Batter. He was situated on the floor by the table, his height allowing him to be eye level with Maria’s sitting self. She smiled and rolled her eyes before opening the envelope, curious as to why her mom wrote her a letter and- _ah_. That’s it.

 

Maria groaned and dropped her head into her hands. “That’s why,” she grumbled. The Batter made a rumble of … Confusion?(‘ I’ll get a hang of these at some point,’ she hoped) and she sighed. “Mom wrote me a letter, Israel enlisted. She’s not happy, but he’s his own man. It’s just that he’s her youngest… and there is nothing I say that will change his mind, but she hopes,” she explained, the Batter nodding in what she thought was understanding.

 

He seemed to muse on that, before inquiring, “Worrrried? With rrreason?” He winced a bit on his pronunciation and flicked his tongue out to lick the… now empty… plate in front of him. When did that disappear?

 

She shrugged, “it’s hard sayin’. Mom’s a worrier, and Israel is stubborn. He’ll do anything he sets his mind to. She didn’t say which division… Makes a big  difference though… He’ll probably go Air Force or something since Joseph and Jesus went Army and Navy,” she explained. At his confused head tilt, she elaborated, “Mom either didn’t know or didn’t care that she was furthering stereotypes about our names when she named us and I just realized you probably don’t know human stereotypes so that was pointless,” she rambled before sighing.

 

She cleared her throat and, trying again, “okay, so. The Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Guard are human military forces, men and women can join in to defend our country from those that would do it harm, or from those who would harm smaller countries. In theory it’s just that simple, but politics and misinformation keep that from happening. Digressing, those four are all different divisions that do have overlap, like you can fly things in the Army, Navy, and Air Force. However each one is known for some specific thing- Army and infantry and tanks, Navy and the seas, Air Force and the sky, and the National Guard protects our borders or something.  Marines are a thing too but not even Marines want to be Marines,” this clearly was not helping the Batter, she noticed as his expression morphed into even more confusion.

 

“Pretty much,” she began one last time, “all of them are dangerous, and he could die doing any of them, but if it’s for a cause he believes in I think he can do whatever he wants,” there, just answering the question seemed to pacify the Batter. He grumbled and shuffled off, so Maria grabbed a pen and began making a list. She had to get groceries, look for clothes for Batter (not that she’d get lucky but maybe a three or four XL?), and do laundry.

 

“Hey batter,” she called, twisting to see him poke his head out of her bedroom, lids drooped and clearly half asleep. “Sorry to wake you sleeping beauty, but I have questions for you,” she smiled, standing from her chair and striding over to where the sleepy lizard man had, again, retreated to. He was sprawled across her bed, dwarfing its size and making it look sadly under qualified to hold the Batter’s weight. “Do you know what colors you like? Or are you more a fan of black and white, or…? Also, like, shoe size or anything- socks, do you wear them? Etcetera,” she inquired, leaning in the door frame.

 

The Batter flicked the eye closest to her open and readjusted- she knew what he was doing and was _not_ moving out of the door frame and into his grab zone. She knew if she was snagged again she wouldn’t do all of her errands, and she at least needed to get groceries for another day, her day off is in a day or two, she has to make it there for the big stuff.

 

She was lost in her thoughts again, so she completely missed when he reached out until she was, again, in his grasp, pulled sideways, and on the bed once more. Again she found herself in the position which she woke up in, and she knew she was beat. Another hour of sleep wouldn’t hurt anyone... She closed her eyes and felt the purr around her become constant.

 

“Laterrr,” he stated, purposely sticking his tongue out enough to brush the skin of her neck just to hear her make that ‘eep’ing noise again. He vaguely knew the differences between worlds- he’d been hiding in this world long enough to know some of them. He knew he’d _have_ to eat in this world instead of it being optional. However, his metabolism still worked on using everything he ingested. He considered himself lucky to not have to ‘go pee,’ as his player so eloquently put it. His healing could not be aided by luck tickets, but still healed at a decent (or to humans, rapid) pace. His competences were blocked so far as he knew. He did wonder if his Player, his Maria could access them…

 

At the thought of his Maria, and knowing she was _here_ with him, in his hold, his purr kicked back up. The thought of having his player here with him, not so close but so very far was exquisite. Her scent he couldn’t get enough of- it was just such a pure thing and he had yet to smell anything he found so _pure_ as her. He wasn’t sure how long he could stay, or how this would work out, so he was going to monopolize her time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very sorry for no pic! This was ready to post like, two Saturdays ago, but I didn't have a pic ready, and then when I tried posting none of my formatting was transferring from what I was posting from, so I had to get it to the comp and here we are. I'll update with a pic as I get it done, sorry for such a long wait for a mere filler/awkward situation chapter.   
> Not super happy with it, but it was supposed to try to flesh things out a bit more. Pretty much fell on my face again, but eh. Once more, terribly sorry friends! D:


	3. That One Time You Go and Run Errands and it Can Never Be That Simple™

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dream or not, real life stuff has to be done.  
> That means errands.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With apologies for taking the better part of six months!! It's basically a regularly sized update. More at the end.

It was time to get out of bed and do chores. The nap with Batter had been heavenly, but she had to go if she wanted food for tomorrow. The sad truth of life, food was a necessity. Maria sighed and once more set to free herself. His noise of protest was ignored, and she once again was free from his grasp. She grabbed a change of casual clothes from her closet, swatted his hands away from grabbing her again, and shuffled off to the bathroom.

 

One quick shower later, and she was ready to go shopping. “I’ll be back Batter, don’t break the apartment. If I’m not back in five hours you have my permission to break the neighbors’ door down,” she really hoped it didn’t come to that. She snagged her keys and purse, and off she went.

 

The corner store was a small Mom and Pop place, it was questionable on the outside, but the owners were sweet and kept good, or at least decent, produce. She grabbed the basics that were needed- corn, tomatoes, potatoes, and so on. The owners weren’t in, so the usual moody teenager behind the counter was no surprise. She just wished Janice’s hip would get better. Grabbing her bags, she made it to the butcher’s across the street.

 

She went to the butcher’s for meat, the man behind the counter looked grumpy, but she got a discount ever since his son fell from his bike. All she had done was set his arm and stay with him until his dad could get there. He was a good kid, but was convinced that the reasoning for him breaking his arm was that he hadn’t worn a helmet- she tried telling him it was unrelated but he wore one anyways now. Safety was nice so she didn’t complain. Regardless, she got a small smile from him when she walked in.

 

“Ahh, the grazer returns!” He teased, it’s true she usually didn’t get much, but with Batter… “how much this time? You need to eat more,” he chided. Somewhere along the way, he was convinced she didn’t eat at all. On the contrary, she ate plenty- she just didn’t eat the recommended times per day.

 

She brushed it off, “You got me Jurgis, I cave. Load me up with meat,” she declared. She didn't expect him to suddenly grow cold again, glaring. “What did I d-”she began, before a massive shadow fell over her. She turned, and there was the Batter,  in all his beastly glory, crouched and looking rather smug at her. “Oh,” she whispered, her heart dropping into her stomach.

 

“Can help you, yes?” Jurgis virtually snarled, glaring at the Batter.

 

Maria immediately spun around, her voice rushed and panicked, “oh Jurgis, this is uh, not lizard, he-” she babbled before the man slammed his cleaver onto the butcher block.

 

“Sir you will be backing off _right **now**_ ,” he snarled, at the Batter. Maria sighed in relief at the word ‘man’, but hastily went to soothe the (now **_very_** _angry_ ) Batter before he leapt at Jurgis.

 

“Jurgis no! This is uh, Ba… Bat, uh… Bastien. Bastien,” the Batter looked at her quizzically, while she continued to babble. “Yes. Bastien. This is ah, Bastien, he’s from France and uh is staying with me. Bastein, this is my _friend_ Jurgis.” She glared at this one, the Batter taking the hint and calming marginally.

 

Jurgis looked unconvinced, leaning on the counter and never ceasing his glare at the Batter. He flicked his gaze back to Maria before settling again on the ‘guest.’ “This big strange man is staying with tiny you,” he stated, maintaining eye contact with Batter. Maria couldn’t seem to find words, somehow hoping whatever was leading Jurgis to say ‘man’ not ‘crocodile’ stayed put. The butcher sighed and again grabbed the cleaver, sharpening it he began again, “You call me first sign of trouble. Yell and neighbor will be in one minute, I will be there in five, police force in seven,” he listed, his eyes agin meeting the Batter’s, “We clear?”

 

The lizard rumbled lowly in distrust, but curtly responded, “oui,” before again hovering behind Maria.

 

Maria was a bit disoriented and confused- did Jurgis just shovel talk Batter? She shook her head and pinched the bridge of her nose, “right. So, I need plenty of meat to feed the two of us,” she continued. It was waaaaaay too early for this bull.

 

Jurgis was still glaring at the Batter, but started slowly stalking down the counter, “what type of meat do you want,” he demanded more than asked.

 

She hummed noncommittally, deciding, “Whatever you’d get,” before pointing accusingly, “within reason, Jurgis. No repeating last time. That was ugly,” she grumbled, causing Jurgis to chuckle and busy himself. Inwardly Maria cheered, the bleak mood was successfully diffused. The Batter was content just being an extended shadow, but Maria wanted to get him back to her apartment as fast as she could.

 

Soon enough Jurgis handed her a bag of wrapped meats, his scrawling handwriting visible enough that she’s be able to read which was what and what cut. She paid the requested amount (and with the price it was either a lot of meat, really good cuts, or a mixture of the two), and was pushing the Batter out the door as fast as she could, “Bye Jurgis, tell the family I said hello!” called over her shoulder.

 

She smiled as she looped her arm through the Batter’s, his purr kicking back up, but a quiet one. She smiled politely and speed walked as fast as she could while laden with groceries. Noticing how she struggled, he easily took some of the bags into his free hand and arm, allowing her to have even more mobility. She immediately abused this by tugging him back even faster.

 

She went as fast as she could through the apartment lobby/mail room as she could without sprinting. Up the flight of stairs she pulled him, and as soon as she had placed the groceries down she was facing him, fuming. “Batter. **What**. **_The_**. **_HELL_** ,” she seethed, the giant lizard lowering his head in a more-or-less admission of ‘I screwed up.’

 

“Batter! You went out in public! How was I supposed to explain that?! I can’t explain that- lizard men don’t just go WALKING ABOUT TOWN, ‘YES HELLO I AM THE NORM,’” she ranted. She was about to continue before she stopped herself and took a big, deep breath. Sighing, she started again, “Batter, hon, you can’t scare me like that… How was I supposed to know nobody would out and out not try to kill you?” She asked, concern clouding her tone as she looked him in the eyes, expecting an answer.

 

The Batter shifted uncertainly on his feet, “well,” he started, seeming to weigh what he was going to say, “when people see me, they…” he trailed off, his expression crinkling into irritation as he thought about how to explain this. “Like in game, people see what they want to see. I get a vague idea of what is seen, mais je ne connais pas, not certainly,” he finished. He looked at Maria expectantly, and waited.

 

Maria felt her face flush at the implications… “So wait, am I seeing you like this because I want to see you like this? Or….” Wow this conversation went awkward really fast…

 

The Batter flicked his inner lid closed (she didn’t even know it was there but apparently it was a thing and she should not leap out of her skin because of it), and hummed. “No… You’re my Player, you see me for who I am,” he looked away before he continued, “I hoped you would not see me as this, but you did.” He admitted the last part sheepishly.

 

Maria frowned at the giant, “Batter, you listen here mister. While I was not expecting you to be here,” the finger was out. This was a verbal lashing now, “I’m glad you found me. I’m glad you’re off the streets and in a more-or-less safe environment. I’m happy to see you this way, anyway,” she grumbled the last part, a slight blush rising to her cheeks.

 

The Batter seemed shocked at her statement, but she brushed it off by continuing, “regardless, we need to get you clothing. These have developed some funk and lemme tell you that’s no complement. So,” she said, bustling around to find her measuring tape, “let's get you sized. I have this sinking feeling you don’t exactly fit a conventional size,” she muttered. Looking him over she began barking out orders, “stand up straight, arms out, we need measurements.”

 

The Batter reflexively obeyed, jerking upright and slamming his head into the roof, hissing and hunching back a little reflexively. Maria covered her mouth (mostly to stop herself from laughing), and mused, “okay, maybe we’ll chunk this out… Sit down, back straight, arms out,” she offered instead. The Batter took a minute, but eventually he was situated, and Maria went to work. She measured, recorded, and idly mused on how exactly she was going to get ANYTHING to work on this lizard man. When she was done with the torso, she stood back and thought a bit.

 

“Hey Batter, could you possibly stand up and bend at the waist?” He looked confused at the request, but complied. She hummed appreciatively and continued her measuring, damn this was gonna be hard… Regardless, everything was measured, and recorded, she’d have to get fabric the next day or so…

 

However, she had run out of time, and she had to put away groceries too. She tossed the measuring tape onto the table and shoo’d the massive lizard away. There were things to be done, and he wasn’t needed to put things away on the top shelf right now. Meat went into the freezer, veggies into the drawer, cereal into cabinets, and so on.

 

Quickly snagging some scrubs she dashed into the bathroom, changed, and was rattling off instructions for the giant lizard. “If you get hungry you saw where the meat was put away, don’t tear down the apartment or bring attention to yourself, just push the red button on the remote and it’ll turn the TV on - _pleasedon’tbreakit_ \- my laptop is off limits until we figure out if that has anything to do with your being here… That’s about it, don’t burn the place down, purification will **_definitely_** be off the menu for a while so don’t even try it, and, _with **my** luck_ , I’ll be back when the big hand on the clock is at the 12 and the little hand at the 3, it’ll be dark so just go ahead and sleep. Also, you’ll probably hear me come in so don’t attack me thanks,” one last giant inhale for the road wouldn’t hurt. She looked back as she grabbed her purse and smiled, “behave yourself, I’ll be back in a bit- with how you’ve been sleeping it’ll be over in a jiffy,” and on that she breezed out the door to walk to work.

 

The giant lizard wait a few precious minutes before lumbering over to the window, the his snout crinkling in concentration as he carefully undid the small locks and gently slid the lower pane up. These buildings had means of getting up just as the zones did, and it was convenient that he was already roughly familiar with their system, thanks to his time searching for his Maria.

 

Squeezing himself through the window was a slight challenge, but once he was out he near silently scaled the system and was on the roof in no time. He easily spotted his Maria in the afternoon sunlight, her hair standing out like a beacon on the street. Following her path, he easily leapt to the roof of the neighboring buildings, making certain he would not be disobeying her orders. Eventually he saw her enter a large, _notmetalandnotquiteplastic_ building. Waiting a few additional minutes to be sure she wouldn’t be leaving, he turned and followed his path back to her building. Making his way back into the apartment, the Batter gently closed the window and flipped the locking mechanisms back in place.

 

Done with making sure she was safely at her location of occupation, he strode to her- **_their_** – room and settled himself on the bed, shoving his nose under her pillow to best capture her scent. He chuffed appreciatively and settled down for some sleep- after all if she were to be done at three in the morning should he not be waiting for her to exit the building by two thirty? He would need his rest, he would much rather eat in her company after all, he had been away from her for far too long in his mind, no time was enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not even a good reason for taking this long, other than my mind was telling me I had to have pictures done and when I couldn't I kept getting pushed further down into the hole. Sorry friends, hopefully I will figure it out more!! Pictures will hopefully be better quality now, though.

**Author's Note:**

> Haha how'd I do? Hope I didn't fall on my face too badly oops.  
> Notes on the way things are spoken- the Batter's 'R's are made in the back of his throat (as the 'R' in French is pronounced also GIANT LIZARD MONSTER), and 'th' gives him trouble, though he won't admit it.  
> Also I didn't realize until AFTER I finished all the effort in that pic it doesn't... exactly... line up with the fic at all. The other ones should be better about lining up.


End file.
